Senate confirms Nielsen to go Homeland Safety

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Deputy White Home chief of workers Kirstjen Nielsen as President Donald Trump‘s alternative to steer the Division of Homeland Safety.

Senators accepted Nielsen’s nomination, 62-37, on Tuesday. Nielsen, 45, is a former DHS official who is taken into account a protege of White Home Chief of Employees John Kelly, a former DHS secretary.

Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., known as Nielsen a certified candidate with the expertise and expertise to succeed. As a former DHS chief of workers, Nielsen understands the division’s each day operations and is able to lead on her first day, McConnell mentioned.

Democrats complained that Nielsen lacks the expertise wanted to run a serious company with 240,000 workers. In addition they cited issues about attainable White Home interference in a current DHS resolution to ship residence 1000’s of Nicaraguans and Haitians lengthy granted U.S. safety.

Senate Homeland Safety Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., mentioned Nielsen brings worthwhile, sensible expertise to DHS. He known as her an knowledgeable in danger administration, with a deal with cybersecurity, emergency administration and demanding infrastructure.

Nielsen “is able to reply this name to responsibility,” Johnson mentioned. “She has been working in and across the Division of Homeland Safety since its creation.”

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., mentioned Nielsen has performed a task in a number of questionable Trump administration selections, together with a journey ban to limit entry from six largely Muslim international locations, termination of a program for younger immigrants and what Harris known as a “feeble response to Hurricanes Irma, Maria and Harvey.”

Harris additionally mentioned she was troubled by Nielsen’s failure to acknowledge at her affirmation listening to how human habits contributes to local weather change.

Frank Sharry, government director of America’s Voice Schooling Fund, which promotes immigrants’ rights, mentioned Trump has labored to punish immigrants and refugees, from his name to construct a wall alongside the Mexican border to the partial journey ban to raids towards immigrants.

As a key Kelly aide, Nielsen is “one of many architects” of Trump’s immigration insurance policies, Sharry mentioned. He known as Nielsen “a prepared confederate, serving to to form and implement this profoundly disturbing and un-American imaginative and prescient of our nation.”

Nielsen mentioned at her affirmation listening to final month that local weather change is a vital concern and mentioned the Trump administration is revising its local weather fashions to higher reply to rising sea ranges.

“I can not unequivocally state it is brought on by people,” she mentioned. “There are various contributions to it.”

On different subjects, Nielsen mentioned she agreed with Kelly U.S.-Mexico border wall is unlikely to be a bodily barrier from “sea to shining sea.”

She additionally condemned white nationalism, rejected Islamophobia and promised to make cybersecurity a high precedence.

Trump repeatedly promised through the marketing campaign that he would construct the wall and that Mexico would pay for it, however the administration is looking for billions in taxpayer to finance the challenge.

Homeland Safety has been main the cost on implementing Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda, and Nielsen pledged to proceed that work.